[1] Thermoplasma volcanium was isolated from acidic hydrothermal vents off the shores of the beaches of Vulcano, Italy by Segerer et al. in 1988.

[1] Thermoplasma volcanium were cultivated at 57 °C via modified Darland medium (composed of 0.05% MgSO4, 0.02% (NH4)2SO4, 0.025% CaCl2*2H2O, and 0.1% yeast extract) with a reduced glucose concentration.

[1] The medium was attached to an air cooler in a glycerol shaker for microbes utilizing aerobic respiration for metabolic processing.

[1] During early logarithmic growth, the isolates take on forms of all shapes including, but not limited to, coccoid-, disc-, and club-shaped of around 0.2-0.5 micrometers.

[1] During stationary and late logarithmic growth phases, the isolates primarily take on a spherical (coccoid) shape and can produce buds around 0.3 micrometers in width that are thought to contain DNA.

[3] Thermoplasma volcanium possesses a circular genome composed of 1.58 megabase pairs (Mbp) with 1,613 total genes, 1,543 of which are protein-coding.

[4] Genomic sequencing of several archaea has demonstrated a positive correlation between OGT and the presence of specific dinucleotide combinations of purines and pyrimidines.

[1] Based on its growth in medium containing yeast and glucose, it is thought that Thermoplasma volcanium also scavenges other microbes near hydrothermal vents for its carbon source.

[1] These two members of the genus Thermoplasma are highly motile, lack a cell wall, and have homologous histone-like proteins indicative of an evolutionary divergence from eukarya.

[1] As revealed by the research conducted by Kawashima et al., the genome of Thermoplasma volcanium encodes the histone-like DNA-binding protein HU, found on a segment known as huptvo.

[5] Additionally, the ability of Thermoplasma volcanium to function in aerobic and anaerobic environments makes it a prime research subject on the endosymbiotic theory of the eukaryotic nuclei.

[6] If Thermoplasma volcanium’s extremophilic characteristics for desulfurization can be harnessed, then industries will be able to limit the amount of sulfur-induced environmental damage via acid rain, helping to better preserve the environment.